Philippians 3:1 - Meaning and Application

The church at Philippi was faithful and growing, but it was being troubled by Jewish teachers. These teachers tried to keep the Law of Moses alive and blend its practices with the gospel of Christ. Paul begins this chapter by warning the believers about these deceivers.

He first urges them to rejoice in the Lord (Philippians 3:1). They should be content in what they have in Christ and in the good they expect from him. True Christians are marked by joy in Christ Jesus. The more comfort we draw from our faith, the more closely we will hold to it. The more we rejoice in Christ, the more willing we will be to obey him and suffer for him. That also makes us less likely to be pulled away from him. “The joy of the Lord is our strength” (Nehemiah 8:10).

Next, Paul warns them to watch out for false teachers. “To write the same things to you is not a burden to me, and it is safe for you” means he is repeating truths he has already taught. It is as if he says, “What I said before, I now write again, to show that I still hold the same view.” Ministers should never feel that repeating what is helpful and safe is a burden. And believers do well to hear the same important truths again and again, because they strengthen memory and impress the heart. Wanting only new ideas is a restless kind of curiosity.

Then Paul gives a sharp warning: “Watch out for dogs” (Philippians 3:2). The prophet had called false prophets “dumb dogs” (Isaiah 56:10), and Paul seems to point to the same kind of people. He calls them dogs because they were cruel toward faithful Christians, barking at them and attacking them. They boasted about good works against faith in Christ, but Paul calls them evil workers. They boasted that they belonged to the circumcision, but he calls them the mutilation, because they were clinging to a sign that no longer had meaning and were tearing apart the church by it.

Paul then describes true Christians, the real circumcision, meaning the spiritual people of God who are in covenant with him, as Israel once was. “We are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God, glory in Christ Jesus, and put no confidence in the flesh” (Philippians 3:3). He gives three marks of them.

First, they worship by the Spirit. This stands against the outward ceremonies of the Old Testament, with its rules about food, drink, and many washings. Christianity turns us away from outward forms and teaches us to deal inwardly with God in worship. We must worship God in spirit (John 4:24). Religion is empty unless the heart is truly engaged. Whatever we do, we should do it with all our heart as to the Lord. We also worship by the help and power of the Holy Spirit, which belongs especially to the gospel age, the ministry of the Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:8).

Second, they rejoice in Christ Jesus. They do not place their joy in the special privileges of the Jewish nation, or in outward religious duties that replace them in the Christian church. Their joy is in their relation to Christ and their share in him. God once called Israel to rejoice before him in the courts of his house, but now that the substance has come, the shadows have passed away. Our joy is to be in Christ Jesus alone.

Third, they put no confidence in the flesh, meaning they do not trust in outward rites or personal works. We must be brought off from trusting our own standing, so we build only on Jesus Christ, the everlasting foundation. Our confidence belongs to him, just as our joy does.